Covid lockdown: Fortnight circuit-breaker 'likely'

Wales faces a two-week national lockdown, according to a union chief and the leader of Wales largest county.

Welsh Government officials - including the first minister - have been meeting local authorities and key stakeholders over a potential "circuit-breaker".

BBC Wales has been told an announcement on a short limited lockdown will be made over the next few days.

"We are talking about a stay-at-home fortnight," said Shavanah Taj, general secretary of Wales TUC.

"The question is, what does that look like and how does that actually impact jobs?"

Welsh Government minister Eluned Morgan confirmed on Thursday that detailed discussions were ongoing, but there was unlikely to be a decision before the weekend.

She told BBC Radio Cymru: "We need to think about several factors when considering this because people are worried about their jobs, and we would have to make sure there was an economic package in place."

Ms Taj said if a short lockdown was brought in, jobs and businesses needed protection.

"The hospitality industry in particular supports tens of thousands of jobs throughout Wales and we do need to be doing everything possible to make sure that these workers are particular are not left unsupported," she said on BBC Radio Wales.

"We've got to be doing everything possible to avoid mass job losses and business closures at all costs."

Rosemarie Harris, the leader of Powys council said she also expected the circuit-breaker action to be taken.

"Maybe two or three weeks of lockdown, a similar lockdown to before where we are all required to stay at home," she told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast.

"I'm not comfortable with it, but I would say that there is probably a majority support for it, as long as it is fairly short and sharp and that we have an exit strategy."

However, she said she would be seeking financial support for businesses that will be hit by any lockdown.

"It will - again - be difficult for Powys. We are travellers, because we have to be - we have no district general hospital within the county, we have no higher education, many people go out [of the county] for work, for shopping," she said.

As part of a short lockdown in Northern Ireland, schools are closing for two weeks at half term.

On Thursday morning, Wales' Education Minister Kirsty Williams said the government was discussing "whether a circuit-breaker is an appropriate step".

That included considering "what role education has to play in all of that and then we need to be able to give families advance notice if there is to be a change of circumstance".

Laura Doel, director of school leaders' union NAHT, said any decision "needs to be communicated clearly to schools and parents".

"It needs to be made to give everyone enough time to prepare for the impact any school closures may have".

A total of 17 areas in Wales are under local lockdown because of rising infection rates - meaning people cannot travel outside of their area and indoor meetings are restricted.

On Thursday Public Health Wales announced ten more people had died with coronavirus in Wales and 727 had tested positive.

Welsh NHS boss Andrew Goodall has said the number of Covid-related patients in the NHS has risen by 49% in a week.

Caerphilly county was the first part of Wales to go into local lockdown in September, and had been working on an exit strategy.

In a letter to residents, council leader Philippa Marsden and chief executive Christina Harrhy said those discussions were now "irrelevant" because "we are now likely to see a Wales-wide approach - and this will require a completely new exit strategy going forward".

A ban on travelling to Wales from coronavirus hotspots elsewhere in the UK also comes into effect on Friday evening.